Jeff Bezos announces $10B Earth fund to combat climate change

Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon, announced an Earth fund Monday, pledging $10 billion to award grants for projects aimed at combating climate change. File Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI

Feb. 18 (UPI) — Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos announced the launch of a new Earth fund Monday, pledging $10 billion to combat climate change.

Bezos announced the Bezos Earth Fund in an Instagram post saying he will begin issuing grants this summer for projects seeking to find new ways and promote existing ways to fight climate change.

“This global initiative will fund scientists, activists, NGOs — any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world,” Bezos wrote.

The announcement comes after a group of 357 Amazon workers defied company rules — which bar workers from speaking publicly about official business — by posting complaints about environmental and other matters under the banner Amazon Employees for Climate Justice last month.

Amazon Employees for Climate Justice issued a statement in response to the announcement of the fund but questioned whether it will come with changes at the company addressing their concerns.

“We applaud Jeff Bezos’ philanthropy, but one hand cannot give what the other is taking away,” they wrote. “The people of Earth need to know: When is Amazon going to stop helping oil and gas companies ravage Earth with still more oil and gas wells? When is Amazon going to stop funding climate-denying think tanks like Competitive Enterprise Institute and climate-delaying policy? When will Amazon take responsibility for the lungs of children near its warehouses by moving from diesel to all-electric trucking?”

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